Representative, Jefferies, was, complaining, instead, of, finding, other, ways, to, possibly, bring, a, positive, message, to, every, American, on television!
Excellent interview, Edwin. Meredith is well aware of de shortcomings which I agree with completely. I have never seen so much power wasted without a fight. I keep saying that the only thing of lasting consequence that corporate, mainstream, or whatever oniker you want to give them, is trump twice, a GOP congress, a conservative, corrupt scotus and most state legislatures. Dems are playing rope a dope but forgot the part about coming off the ropes and throwing some punches. It's embarrassing. People are looking for change, not mor mushy, confused, feeble, weakness. Throw the unches, don't be the punching bag.
I only wish that you had dug into what Vaught and Bessent are doing to completely takeover the Federal Government during the shutdown. Vaught announced today that he is starting the permanent firing of employees that aren't supporting Trump's agenda!
"Democrats should refuse to fund a government that weaponizes federal power against its own citizens." With all due respect for the sentiment behind this proposal, I'd like to hear specifics on how you see this playing out.
How exactly would this stop the Trump administration from continuing its authoritarian moves?
What kind of leverage does a government shutdown offer in this regard?
And are you really suggesting that federal workers and their families do without paychecks until Trump agrees to respect the Constitution?
In your view, what is the specific outcome that would be sufficient to re-open the government?
And if that outcome were achieved, how could you guarantee that it would last even one minute after the government re-opened?
Let's be realistic. We all need to stand up to authoritarianism, but don't ask our Congressmen/women to shut down the government for an impossible goal. We will need to use other strategies.
Great discussion‼️ A real meeting of the minds‼️👏🏼😅 I was particularly struck by the observation that Congress is still treating this regime as if it’s business as usual. 🤔🤦🏻♂️🤷🏻♂️ Personally I think we need to focus on getting rid of the Congress we have now and electing a new group of leaders who can ACTUALLY LEAD US OUT OF THIS DEBACLE‼️✊🏼😆
Every time a Democrat answers a question about ANYTHING, they should begin their answer by saying, “Even though Pam Bondi, Kash Patel, Mike Johnson, and Trump refuse to release the Epstein files, and thereby PROTECT pedophiles and insult their victims, Icant support the Republican’s CR because it that tell millions of people who are going to lose their healthcare that they’re going to die anyway, and they should go to hell.
Or
“Even though Pam Bondi, Kash Patel, Mike Johnson, and Trump refuse to release the Epstein files, and thereby PROTECT pedophiles and insult their victims, I’m delighted to be a new father!”
“Edwin Eisendrath insists the antidote to that fear is organized compassion, a civic resistance rooted in everyday solidarity.”
Yes.
Dietrich Bonhoeffer (1906–1945) — German Lutheran pastor, theologian, and resistor — stands as a singular moral witness to the spiritual dangers posed by totalitarian power.
His life and work illuminate how a dictator’s politics can corrode not only institutions but the inner life of a people, producing a collective spiritual toxicity that warps conscience, language, and community.
Bonhoeffer’s theology rejected a privatized faith insulated from the world’s suffering. For him, authentic discipleship was costly: it demanded solidarity with the oppressed, a willingness to bear others’ burdens, and a readiness to suffer for justice.
This conviction informed Bonhoeffer’s leadership in the Confessing Church, his pastoral care for Jews and other victims of persecution, and ultimately his participation in plots to remove Hitler — actions he regarded as tragic yet morally necessary when faced with genocidal evil. His insistence that Christian faith must be lived concretely among those who suffer makes his thought a sharp counterpoint to the spiritual acquiescence that fuels authoritarian rule.
Totalitarian politics breeds spiritual toxicity through several interlocking dynamics.
First, it numbs moral perception and normalizes violence. Propaganda and state terror recast cruelty as patriotism or legality; behaviors that once would have provoked outrage become routine.
Bonhoeffer observed how theological and civic language could be enlisted to justify discrimination and brutality, turning moral categories inside out and blurring the boundary between right and expedience.
Second, a dictator’s cult of personality fosters idolatry of the state and its leader.
When absolute loyalty to the nation or ruler displaces allegiance to a transcendent moral order, conscience is suppressed and ethical discernment withers. Bonhoeffer warned against any “religion” that sanctifies power; the substitution of the sovereign for the sacred leaves souls bereft of true moral orientation.
Third, authoritarian systems erode communal responsibility.
Fear, co-optation, and bureaucratic incentives fracture solidarity, pushing people toward private survival or passive collaboration.
The social fabric that sustains mutual care unravels, leaving isolated individuals either to acquiesce or to resist alone. Bonhoeffer’s call to costly discipleship — to bear one another’s burdens even at personal risk — stands as a direct rebuttal to this retreat into self-preservation.
Fourth, the rhetoric of dictatorship corrupts language and truth.
Propaganda, euphemism, and double-speak reframe reality so that atrocities can be spoken of as policy.
Bonhoeffer prized truthful witness in preaching, pastoral care, and public action; without such integrity of speech, moral imagination atrophies and evil becomes easier to carry out and to accept.
Finally, prolonged exposure to systemic evil breeds spiritual cynicism, despair, or a transactional faith that prioritizes safety over justice.
People may resign themselves to compromise, believing resistance impossible or too costly. Bonhoeffer, however, reimagined suffering not as defeat but as participation in Christ; sacrifice, in his view, could be a form of witness that preserves moral clarity and hope amid degradation.
Bonhoeffer’s life models how to respond to the collective spiritual toxicity of dictatorship. He refused to retreat into abstract doctrine or private piety; instead he combined theological clarity with courageous, concrete action.
He helped organize confessional resistance, sheltered those persecuted, and accepted the moral complexity and personal cost that came with opposing a murderous regime.
Even his willingness to be implicated in plots to assassinate Hitler reflects a tragic but deliberate ethical calculus: when lesser means are exhausted, more extreme actions may become necessary to prevent greater evil.
Throughout, Bonhoeffer’s writings on discipleship, community, and the cost of obedience press believers and citizens alike to reject complacency and ideological enchantment.
Applied to contemporary contexts, Bonhoeffer’s witness suggests several practical guards against the spiritual toxicity of authoritarian politics: vigilance against the idolatry of leaders and states; protection of institutions that sustain truth and free speech; cultivation of communal bonds that defend and include the vulnerable; and moral and civic education that nurtures conscience and courage.
Crucially, his example calls for a willingness to accept personal cost for the sake of collective justice — a posture of faithfulness that privileges solidarity over safety.
Dietrich Bonhoeffer does not offer tidy formulas for political action; his legacy is a posture of ethical seriousness rooted in truth, solidarity, and sacrificial love.
In an age when political movements can still seduce whole societies into complicity, his life reminds us that spiritual health depends on the courage to speak truth, to stand with the oppressed, and, when required, to act decisively against structures of death.
Only by reclaiming conscience, community, and truthful witness can societies resist the spiritual corrosion that dictatorships seek to impose.
He also was given a full professorship at Union Theological Seminary in New York just before the war. He went to New York stayed a month or two. Knowing the terrible danger he would face in Nazi Germany, he went back to Germany, was a part of the General's plot to kill Hitler and was executed in the final months of WWII.
When are the Blue States, and the feckless Dem leaders, going to band together and threaten to collect their constituent's federal taxes, and put them into escrow, in order to stop Trump from stealing the 2026 midterm elections, which he is clearly planning to do.
Blue States fund the Federal government, Red States take Federal funds. Threaten to DeFund Trump BEFORE ne steals the 2026 midterms.
Thank, you, both, for, a, good, interview! Both? Of course, as, all, of, us, show, a, bright, life, of , hope, through, dark, times!
Perhaps, independent, media, could, help, people, bring, a, voice to, those, who, are, elected Democrats! Senate, and the, Congress!
Representative, Jefferies, was, complaining, instead, of, finding, other, ways, to, possibly, bring, a, positive, message, to, every, American, on television!
Excellent interview, Edwin. Meredith is well aware of de shortcomings which I agree with completely. I have never seen so much power wasted without a fight. I keep saying that the only thing of lasting consequence that corporate, mainstream, or whatever oniker you want to give them, is trump twice, a GOP congress, a conservative, corrupt scotus and most state legislatures. Dems are playing rope a dope but forgot the part about coming off the ropes and throwing some punches. It's embarrassing. People are looking for change, not mor mushy, confused, feeble, weakness. Throw the unches, don't be the punching bag.
Unfortunately, this, government, needs, to, come, together,its, not, about, right! It’s my, wish, that, we, America, should come, together, despite, the, parties, they, belong! Political theater, most, definitely!
Agree, it’s about authoritarianism! People, do, not, know, what, to, do!
I only wish that you had dug into what Vaught and Bessent are doing to completely takeover the Federal Government during the shutdown. Vaught announced today that he is starting the permanent firing of employees that aren't supporting Trump's agenda!
"Democrats should refuse to fund a government that weaponizes federal power against its own citizens." With all due respect for the sentiment behind this proposal, I'd like to hear specifics on how you see this playing out.
How exactly would this stop the Trump administration from continuing its authoritarian moves?
What kind of leverage does a government shutdown offer in this regard?
And are you really suggesting that federal workers and their families do without paychecks until Trump agrees to respect the Constitution?
In your view, what is the specific outcome that would be sufficient to re-open the government?
And if that outcome were achieved, how could you guarantee that it would last even one minute after the government re-opened?
Let's be realistic. We all need to stand up to authoritarianism, but don't ask our Congressmen/women to shut down the government for an impossible goal. We will need to use other strategies.
Go Brewers. 😏 Let's get back to sports rivalries being the biggest battles in Chicago
Great discussion‼️ A real meeting of the minds‼️👏🏼😅 I was particularly struck by the observation that Congress is still treating this regime as if it’s business as usual. 🤔🤦🏻♂️🤷🏻♂️ Personally I think we need to focus on getting rid of the Congress we have now and electing a new group of leaders who can ACTUALLY LEAD US OUT OF THIS DEBACLE‼️✊🏼😆
Every time a Democrat answers a question about ANYTHING, they should begin their answer by saying, “Even though Pam Bondi, Kash Patel, Mike Johnson, and Trump refuse to release the Epstein files, and thereby PROTECT pedophiles and insult their victims, Icant support the Republican’s CR because it that tell millions of people who are going to lose their healthcare that they’re going to die anyway, and they should go to hell.
Or
“Even though Pam Bondi, Kash Patel, Mike Johnson, and Trump refuse to release the Epstein files, and thereby PROTECT pedophiles and insult their victims, I’m delighted to be a new father!”
“Edwin Eisendrath insists the antidote to that fear is organized compassion, a civic resistance rooted in everyday solidarity.”
Yes.
Dietrich Bonhoeffer (1906–1945) — German Lutheran pastor, theologian, and resistor — stands as a singular moral witness to the spiritual dangers posed by totalitarian power.
His life and work illuminate how a dictator’s politics can corrode not only institutions but the inner life of a people, producing a collective spiritual toxicity that warps conscience, language, and community.
Bonhoeffer’s theology rejected a privatized faith insulated from the world’s suffering. For him, authentic discipleship was costly: it demanded solidarity with the oppressed, a willingness to bear others’ burdens, and a readiness to suffer for justice.
This conviction informed Bonhoeffer’s leadership in the Confessing Church, his pastoral care for Jews and other victims of persecution, and ultimately his participation in plots to remove Hitler — actions he regarded as tragic yet morally necessary when faced with genocidal evil. His insistence that Christian faith must be lived concretely among those who suffer makes his thought a sharp counterpoint to the spiritual acquiescence that fuels authoritarian rule.
Totalitarian politics breeds spiritual toxicity through several interlocking dynamics.
First, it numbs moral perception and normalizes violence. Propaganda and state terror recast cruelty as patriotism or legality; behaviors that once would have provoked outrage become routine.
Bonhoeffer observed how theological and civic language could be enlisted to justify discrimination and brutality, turning moral categories inside out and blurring the boundary between right and expedience.
Second, a dictator’s cult of personality fosters idolatry of the state and its leader.
When absolute loyalty to the nation or ruler displaces allegiance to a transcendent moral order, conscience is suppressed and ethical discernment withers. Bonhoeffer warned against any “religion” that sanctifies power; the substitution of the sovereign for the sacred leaves souls bereft of true moral orientation.
Third, authoritarian systems erode communal responsibility.
Fear, co-optation, and bureaucratic incentives fracture solidarity, pushing people toward private survival or passive collaboration.
The social fabric that sustains mutual care unravels, leaving isolated individuals either to acquiesce or to resist alone. Bonhoeffer’s call to costly discipleship — to bear one another’s burdens even at personal risk — stands as a direct rebuttal to this retreat into self-preservation.
Fourth, the rhetoric of dictatorship corrupts language and truth.
Propaganda, euphemism, and double-speak reframe reality so that atrocities can be spoken of as policy.
Bonhoeffer prized truthful witness in preaching, pastoral care, and public action; without such integrity of speech, moral imagination atrophies and evil becomes easier to carry out and to accept.
Finally, prolonged exposure to systemic evil breeds spiritual cynicism, despair, or a transactional faith that prioritizes safety over justice.
People may resign themselves to compromise, believing resistance impossible or too costly. Bonhoeffer, however, reimagined suffering not as defeat but as participation in Christ; sacrifice, in his view, could be a form of witness that preserves moral clarity and hope amid degradation.
Bonhoeffer’s life models how to respond to the collective spiritual toxicity of dictatorship. He refused to retreat into abstract doctrine or private piety; instead he combined theological clarity with courageous, concrete action.
He helped organize confessional resistance, sheltered those persecuted, and accepted the moral complexity and personal cost that came with opposing a murderous regime.
Even his willingness to be implicated in plots to assassinate Hitler reflects a tragic but deliberate ethical calculus: when lesser means are exhausted, more extreme actions may become necessary to prevent greater evil.
Throughout, Bonhoeffer’s writings on discipleship, community, and the cost of obedience press believers and citizens alike to reject complacency and ideological enchantment.
Applied to contemporary contexts, Bonhoeffer’s witness suggests several practical guards against the spiritual toxicity of authoritarian politics: vigilance against the idolatry of leaders and states; protection of institutions that sustain truth and free speech; cultivation of communal bonds that defend and include the vulnerable; and moral and civic education that nurtures conscience and courage.
Crucially, his example calls for a willingness to accept personal cost for the sake of collective justice — a posture of faithfulness that privileges solidarity over safety.
Dietrich Bonhoeffer does not offer tidy formulas for political action; his legacy is a posture of ethical seriousness rooted in truth, solidarity, and sacrificial love.
In an age when political movements can still seduce whole societies into complicity, his life reminds us that spiritual health depends on the courage to speak truth, to stand with the oppressed, and, when required, to act decisively against structures of death.
Only by reclaiming conscience, community, and truthful witness can societies resist the spiritual corrosion that dictatorships seek to impose.
He also was given a full professorship at Union Theological Seminary in New York just before the war. He went to New York stayed a month or two. Knowing the terrible danger he would face in Nazi Germany, he went back to Germany, was a part of the General's plot to kill Hitler and was executed in the final months of WWII.
Let's DEFUND TRUMP!
When are the Blue States, and the feckless Dem leaders, going to band together and threaten to collect their constituent's federal taxes, and put them into escrow, in order to stop Trump from stealing the 2026 midterm elections, which he is clearly planning to do.
Blue States fund the Federal government, Red States take Federal funds. Threaten to DeFund Trump BEFORE ne steals the 2026 midterms.
https://www.npr.org/2025/10/05/nx-s1-5563170/trump-national-guard-chicago-portland-illinois-oregon-pritzker